Tuesday, August 14

Knight to Clips

Cross Los Angeles off your potential destinations for Luke Ridnour/Earl Watson, as the Clips inked point guard Brevin Knight on Monday. While the possibility of Watson being sent back to LA (he attended UCLA) were always hypothetical at best, I had held out hope of the Sonics landing something, anything for one of their superfluous PGs in a trade with the Clippers.

For now, at least, the list of possible locations just got one name shorter, and the likelihood of Watson and Ridnour cohabitating for another season got that much more likely. Perhaps Sam Presti is hoping for a one-season tryout to determine if either of the two is ready to be a starting point guard, and if neither fills the bill, he'll have the option of waiting for next spring's draft, when he'll have the opportunity to pick OJ Mayo with the #1 pick.

16 comments:

This is exactly want I brought up a few weeks ago in regards to Watson and Ridnour. I think Presti is going to let this season be an evaluation season at the PG position. And just for the record, I think Derek Rose is much better super-frosh at the PG than Mayo.

He may be, but 1) he's only 19 years old, and 2) he's going to average 20 ppg as a freshman point guard in the Pac-10 with at least 4 or 5 assists per game.

Rose has a great reputation, too, and he might actually be a better fit for the Sonics since he's a better defender (so far) than OJ. Plus, guys named OJ who went to school at USC don't have a great track record.

Earl Watson and Damien Wilkins to the Heat for Jason Williams' expiring contract. The Heat get the PG they need to ride alongside D-Wade, a good contract in Wilkins, and the Sonics get a PG who can play backup to Frodo.

This summer, the Sonics would have a top 5 pick, Kevin Durant, Green, and $16 mil. in expiring contracts from Thomas and Williams. Plus, the next summer, Wally World and Wilcox would give them another $20 mil. in expiring contract. Hello, free agents!

I think Ryan's suggestion is great. The other teams desperate for help at point guard are (or should be) the Cavs and the Celtics. The Celtics have nada to offer, but as a variation on Ryan's theme, the Cavs would probably be happy to part with the expiring contracts of some combination of Newble, Wesley and Brown.

This is a highly toxic syptom that only seems to affect the melaninally challenged, it is medically known as 'The Great White Hype'. Now that you know what it is McWalter44, you can get help. You need help, don't be ashamed, and yes this is also the reason you love Luke Ridnour. It's ok denial is the first stage of the healing process, let it go.

"Earl Watson and Damien Wilkins to the Heat for Jason Williams' expiring contract."

You see McWalter44, you are highly contagious at this stage, you need to quarantine yourself for the good of man kind. It's obvious ryan is in extreme delirium, poor poor caucazoid. It will be ok, I promise, they have specialists that can help you.

I don't want Jason Williams because he's white, I want him because his contract expires at the end of the year. I'd rather the Sonics dealt Luke rather than Earl, but they can't because of his base-year contract status which makes him impossible (pretty much) to deal until next season. Rather than keep both of those guys around, I think it's better if we deal whichever one we can away now and get some salary cap help next summer.

If it makes you feel better, I'm hoping the Sonics sign a free agent with the money they get from the white point guard's expiring contract. Take a deep breath, man, we're not all KKK members here.

1. Derrick Rose is African-American; thus, anyone who'd rather want him -- or, for that matter, Eric Gordon -- instead of O.J. Mayo isn't playing the race card for obvious reasons. Besides, Rose is a natural point guard who's drawn comparisons to a young Gary Payton, while Mayo is a selfish combo guard -- who's grossly overhyped and lax on defense -- in the same mold as Gilbert Arenas.

2. Personally, I prefer Earl Watson over Luke Ridnour at point guard -- which is mostly due to defensive reasons -- however, Ridnour is a base-year compensation player 'cause of his contractual situation, so it's difficult for the Seattle Supersoncis to deal him elsewhere. I, therefore, wholly support the idea of trading Watson (2007-2008: $5,800,000; 2008-2009: $6,200,000; 2009-2010: $6,600,000) and Damien Wilkins (2007-2008: $2,900,000; 2008-2009: $3,100,000; 2009-2010: $3,300,000) to the Miami Heat for Jason Williams ($8,937,500), All things considered, it'd currently consolidate the roster -- as well as provide some all-important stability at point guard -- and shed salary in the future.

AK i mostly agree with your points, but seriously, have some decency. You aren't the foremost authority on the nba, the sonics, or anything for that matter. Stop acting like you are the end all oppinion on these boards - really, you are just that, an oppinion. Don't be so damn condescending, it's not healthy for anyone. or my headache.

That being said, there are worse things than having a gilbert arenas on your team, especially if your team contains the likes of kevin durant and jeff green. That would leave us the additions of a free agent big man and a lock down perimiter defender away from some championships.

I'm not saying mayo is a better choice than rose as far a point gaurd goes, but both would be a great addition to our young team.

"AK i mostly agree with your points, but seriously, have some decency. You aren't the foremost authority on the nba, the sonics, or anything for that matter. Stop acting like you are the end all oppinion on these boards - really, you are just that, an oppinion. Don't be so damn condescending, it's not healthy for anyone. or my headache."

In my opinion, thebigo's reverse discrimination is more infuriatingly objectionable than any bit of condescension on my part. Come on, let's put things in perspective here.

"That being said, there are worse things than having a gilbert arenas on your team, especially if your team contains the likes of kevin durant and jeff green. That would leave us the additions of a free agent big man and a lock down perimiter defender away from some championships."

Anyway, Brian, you unwittingly validated my point concerning why Derrick Rose would be a better addition than O.J. Mayo. Indeed, you stated that a lockdown perimeter defender would greatly benefit the Seattle Supersonics, which is one of the several roles -- including those such as a premier playmaker -- that Rose would fill by coming here.

Furthermore, the ballclub already has a superstar who'll demand a heavy load of shots in Kevin Durant; consequently, the idea of pairing him with Mayo might, perhaps, backfire like the Denever Nuggets combination of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson.

Yet, that's all just speculative conjecture, so you can take it or leave it.

I know, I fucked up. I got him confused with Kevin Love (or whatever the kids name is). Regardless, AK, you are a jackass. I was just having some fun. These just jokes people, chill. Just tryin' to get some laughs. I laughed my ass off, so it worked. Thanks, I'll be here all week.

Anyway, there are a couple of outstanding Caucasian players who could conceivably declare for the 2008 NBA Draft. As it is, those two guys are shooting guard Chase Budinger and power forward Kevin Love.

While Budinger has the all-around skill set of a young Brent Barry -- as well as physical features that makes him resemble former Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley -- it's tough to associate Love's game with any current players in the NBA.

For whatever it's worth, I've tabbed Love as a hybrid of two Hall of Famers in Kevin McHale and Bill Walton. Basically, the combination of Walton's keen court vision and impressive passing abilities -- especially for an interior player -- mixed with McHale's varied arsenal of low-post moves on offense fitly sums up Love's overall game.

At any rate, though, it'll be fun watching Budinger and Love -- who attend Arizona and UCLA, respectively -- compete against the Washington Huskies in Pacific-Ten Conference play during this upcoming season.